Man freed in wrongful conviction

After spending 26 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Alton Logan is finally a free man. On Thursday, a judge ruled Logan will not have to endure another trial on charges stemming from a 1982 murder to which another man confessed.

"Here's to freedom," said Logan, who celebrated the end of a long road to freedom.

"I can do what I want to when I want to," said Logan.

He spent 26 years in prison after being convicted of the 1982 murder of a security guard at a McDonald's restaurant. Another man, convicted cop-killer Andrew Wilson, told his lawyers he committed the crime, but his confession was protected by attorney-client privilege until Wilson died in prison in 2007.

Logan was released from prison in April 2008 but the murder case against him wasn't dismissed until Thursday. Cook County Judge James Schreier told Logan, "You've endured a season in purgatory. Your long personal nightmare is over."

"Sis, did you hear what I said? I said, 'It's over with. I'm free,'" said Logan.

"I knew it was coming. I just didn't know when," said Barbara Cannon, Logan's aunt.

His family's support has been unwavering, and Logan fought back tears Thursday as he thanked them and the public defenders who worked his case.

"If it hadn't been for them believing what I was telling them, I'd still be there," said Logan.

Logan, 55, has not been able to find a job with the case hanging over him. He will seek a pardon from the governor, and says he'd like an apology from Mayor Daley - who 26 years ago - was the state's attorney.

"That's the only apology I want, but I know I'll never get it," said Logan.

Logan shed many tears -- for years lost, for his mom who died when he was in prison --and, of course, tears of joy. He celebrated his freedom with a glass of champagne.